Family planning attitudes and practices in rural eastern Nigeria

A survey was conducted in August 1974 in 16 Ngwa Igbo villages in the East Central State of Nigeria to determine the attitudes and practices of currently married women with regard to fertility and contraception. The results revealed that 50-60 percent of wives had ever used traditional contraceptives (abstinence, prolonged lactation, and rhythm), although data suggest that some of these methods may have been used for purposes other than contraception. Ever-use of modern contraceptives (pill, IUD, and tubal ligation) was shown to be very low and the desire for many children very strong. Nearly 80 percent of the women interviewed, however, expressed a willingness to attend a family planning clinic if one were accessible to them. This finding suggests that a significant interest in family planning services exists in Ngwa Igbo.